Bobby Ryan gets apology after Olympic snub

When the Olympic roster for Team USA men’s hockey was announced, many around the hockey world were shocked to see that Ottawa Senators right wing Bobby Ryan was left off the roster. After reports from Team USA’s camp showed Brian Burke complaining about Ryan’s intensity and consistency, Ryan was pretty miffed as well.

Now that the dust has settled, the situation has become a bit clearer and tensions have been relieved. Team USA general manager David Poile met with Bobby Ryan and personally apologized to him about the information that became public, according to the Ottawa Citizen’s Ken Warren.

Poile made sure that Ryan was valued for his talents, and let the five-time 30-goal scorer know that he still had a chance to make the team. Many in the decision-making process still wanted Ryan on the team, but right wings with a more developed two-way game such as Ryan Callahan and Blake Wheeler were added to the roster instead.

Ryan told the Ottawa Citizen that Poile wants him to be a part of the team if an injury causes an opening on the roster.

“He just said you never know what might happen in three weeks, or whatever it is, a month, and I said okay, but that wasn’t really the theme of the conversation by any means,” Ryan said following Friday’s practice, as the Senators geared up for Saturday’s game against the Predators.

Ryan says he hasn’t given much thought to the possibility of playing in future international tournaments for the Americans.

“I don’t know, I think you will have to ask me when the opportunity presents itself,” he said. “I’m certainly not going to turn my back on the (U.S.A.) crest.”

One of the best NHL goal scorers of American descent, Ryan is on pace for 33 goals for the 2013-14 season. The only seasons he has finished with less than 30 goals were his rookie year of 2007-08 (5 goals in 23 games) and the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, his last with Anaheim (11 goals in 46 games).

For Ryan, there is no viable scenario that he plays in Sochi this year. With that in mind, the talented winger will turn his attention back to helping the Ottawa Senators. Although there is still a lot of hockey to go, Ottawa is only two points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and Ryan’s continued success will be necessary to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Joe Ray - manager

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